Apocalypse Now: Final Cut [4K UHD]

Reviewing a film like "Apocalypse Now" is almost impossible as it means so many different things to different viewers. Essentially, a 2 to 3 hours long nightmarish acid trip set during the Vietnam War, it has so many subtexts and various characters coming in and out of the narrative one has to just go along for the BBR boat ride. The film has grown in stature over the years. While it was a popular film when released in 1979 several critics didn't really know what to make of it. It certainly pushed some boundaries. Now, decades later the film is seen as one of the finest movies ever made and certainly among the top if not THE top of all war films.Each time I watch it I pick up a little more meaning, humor and just plain insanity. Much more than just an anti-war film, it goes quite a bit deeper. It offers a look into each of our "hearts of darkness" and the strong duality of our better natures vs our darker sides featured over and over again as Capt. Willard and the PBR crew make their way down up the river to their final confrontation with the totally mad Colonel Kurts.This review is based on the 3-disc UK release from StudioCanal of the Final Cut version. I can confirm as others here have already done that the two Blu-Ray discs included with the region free 4K disc are themselves region free even if the stats on the back suggest region B only. They played just fine on my Sony UPB-X800M2 region A player. I cannot confirm if this is the case with all other various releases of the Final Cut or the original 6-disc Final Cut including the original theatrical and Redux versions from StudioCanal, etc. There are so many Blu-ray and 4K releases and re-releases at this point that it's quite a confusing mess. Each release should be tentatively explored with the idea of possible product return just in case.As to the 3 different director's versions of the film, I have no problem with the Final Cut as I believe it adds most of the better bits back into the film without seriously damaging the esthetic of the theatrical version. For me, I always felt the back end of the movie felt rushed in the original. There were some gaps. However, most critics and fans feel that both extended Final Cut and Redux versions slow the movie down too much. Oh well, to each their own. In the end, the movie is so great it can easily survive Coppola's fiddling after the fact, and I'd urge anyone to watch any or all of these three versions to experience the genius and immense impact of this film.This 2019 4K Dolby Vision version remastering is among the finest efforts I've seen. The visual impact is overwhelming. It was taken from the original film negative and scanned directly into 4K. The picture's color timing is stunning. Detail is amazing with fine film grain present. Blacks are inky but you can still see deep into the shadows with a 3D impact. This is demo material even if it's a 45-year-old movie. The Dolby Atmos sound is equally mind boggling. There is a full immersive, detailed spherical sound field.LFE is strong. Napalm and other explosions will rumble. The helicopter blades' thumping sound has a physical impact. Dialog is very clear. Yes, even the low-voiced method acting dialog of Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurtz comes across well delineated. Small details of the jungle sounds, and background ambiance are on full aural display. Again, a demo disc for sound to impress friends and family.The special features include many ported over legacy bits as well as several new offerings or the 40th Anniversary release. One the new special features is a great comparison of the movie's visual quality in home release over the last 40 years starting with the first basic VHS and Betamax versions all the way through to this state-of-the-art 4K release. Your eyes won't believe the improvements and how technology has progressed. Amazing!I consider "Apocalypse Now as a must own movie in any film lover's physical media collection. This 2019 4K StudioCanal presentation fulfills that must own status easily in any of its different configurations. Do NOT hesitate!

The product was perfect. What truly was amazing wad the seller took the time and caring to ask if I used a universal dvd player as the titles region code was not my own region code. I have 1600 moive titles and 42 complete tv series. I've dealt with no less than 800 sellers. Not 1 seller til now has shown caring and concern. They all just wanted money. This seller wanted to make sure I was happy and could actually use the dvd. OUTSTANDING SELLER AND FULLY RECOMMENDED TO ALL

What can I say about the best movie ever made on the Vietnam war! I would like to let everyone know that these discs play on my NTSC blu ray player, so there is no need to pay over $150.00 dollars for the US version! All of the discs are region free!! As has been stated before, this is the best version of this film until they re release it on 8k. However this is the last time i buy this film as the blu ray "Full disclosure" version looks amazing also. The 4k uhd does seem to be a slight upgrade and looks amazing!! Just tired of buying the same titles over and over again!!

All 4k discs are region free, but no all Blu-Rays are, most aren’t, and apocalypse now is supposedly “region -b”, but I just played the blu-ray special features in my US “reguon-a” 4k player and it plays, so don’t be fooled, it works!

Code 15 lower left version as currently depicted works on USA branded 2024 Panasonic Ub450 player. 3 discs included.

Lots of extra features too. A good addition to your collection.

I've been a fan of Apocalypse Now for about 40 years. I also enjoyed Redux. Now I have seen Final Cut and I'm a bit underwhelmed. The difference between the original movie and Final Cut are so subtle as to be almost indistinguishable. The sound and picture quality may be greatly improved but not to my untrained ear and eye. I'm just saying that I might have spent my $40 a better way.

I got the 6 disc 4K blu-ray and HD blu-ray and all 6 discs worked in my North American Region A player despite 4 of the discs saying they were only for Region B